March 27, 2017

A Hamilton Project-Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago Forum

Despite an expected shift in energy and environmental priorities in the coming years, several key challenges present clear opportunities for bipartisan cooperation. Low oil prices have slowed improvements in vehicle efficiency, spurred record-high gasoline demand, and undermined core U.S. energy security and environmental goals. American cities and infrastructure are at risk from the challenges posed by a changing climate — and America’s most abundant and scalable baseload energy resources need to be cheaper and cleaner. In response, market-based reforms, infrastructure investments, and research and development are solutions that would allow us to both tackle climate and environmental ambitions and support economic growth.

In conjunction with the event, the Hamilton Project and EPIC released two new policy proposals: a proposal by Michael Greenstone (University of Chicago), Cass Sunstein (Harvard University) and Sam Ori (University of Chicago) recommending a market-based solution for fuel economy regulation; and a proposal by Matthew Kahn (University of Southern California) offering policies for enhancing urban resilience to new climate risk.

Agenda

1:30 PM Opening Remarks

Robert E. Rubin
Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations;
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary

1:40 PM Roundtable Discussion: An Agenda for Energy Research and Development

Discussant: Ellen D. Williams
Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics and IPST, University of Maryland

Discussant: James Connaughton
President and CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies